Firecracker shooter



1968 R. M. DENTON ETAL 3,412,497

FIRECRACKER SHOOTER Filed July 11, 1967 Y ma E MT W E5 0 o T mm RoBERT Gsoma RAY WILSON United States Patent 3,412,497 FIRECRACKER SHOOTER Robert M. Denton, George P. Holt, Jr., and Ray Wilson, Nashville, Tenn. (all of P.O. Box 46, Old Hickory, Tenn. 37138) Filed July 11, 1967, Ser. No. 652,448 Claims. (Cl. 4254) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An elongated barrel adapted to receive a firecracker and contain the explosion thereof; the rear end of the barrel being closed in operative position, and the muzzle having a constricted opening for receiving the firecracker.

Background of the invention This invention relates to a firecracker shooter, and more particularly to a shooter in which a firecracker may be received and exploded While held in the hand of the operator.

Although devices for holding and shooting firecrackers are known, many of such devices are designed to project the lighted firecracker so that it will explode at a remote distance from the device and the operator. An example of such a device is disclosed in the US. patent to Potter, No. 766,286, issued Aug. 2, 1904.

Firecracker guns and holders which do not project the firecracker when it explodes are disclosed in the Most Patent No. 106,714, issued Aug. 23, 1870, and the Ford Patent No. 1,683,662, issued Sept. 11, 1928. However, in such devices as disclosed in Most and Ford, there is an inherent danger in their use by children because of the uniform diameter of the bore of the barrel. For example, a child with only a slight degree of imagination could very easily insert the firecracker into the barrel first, and then insert a missile or projectile-like member, such as a marble, into the front of the firecracker. Thus, when the firecracker explodes, the firecracker holder becomes a weapon in the form of a missile projector.

Summary of the invention It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a firecracker shooter which will safely hold the firecracker for explosion within the barrel, but will not project the firecracker either before or after explosion, nor project any other type missile by virtue of the explosion of the firecracker.

A further object of this invention is to provide a firecracker shooter having a strong, translucent or transparent barrel for safely receiving an exploding firecracker so that the explosion is clearly visible through the barrel.

Another object of this invention is to provide a firecracker shooter provided With means for supporting a firecracker within the barrel so that the fuse is accessible externally of the barrel for ignition.

Another object of this invention is to provide a firecracker shooter having a barrel for receiving an exploding firecracker without distortion of the barrel or injury to the operator of the gun.

A further object of this invention is to provide a firecracker shooter having a barrel for receiving the firecracker for explosion, and a closure member detachable connected to the rear end of the barrel for selectively closing the barrel in operative position, and for opening the barrel in order to remove the residue from the barrel after the firecracker has exploded.

Another object of this invention is to provide a firecracker shooter having a barrel for receiving a firecracker and a handle member including a closure member detachable connected to the rear end of the barrel.

3,412,497 Patented Nov. 26, 1968 A further object of this invention is to provide a firecracker shooter having a barrel for receiving the firecracker, the muzzle end of the barrel having a constricted opening to permit the entrance only of objects having crosssections substantially smaller than the inner diameter of the barrel.

A further object of this invention is to provide a firecracker shooter of simple and economical construction, yet safe and amusing.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention in operative position, disclosing the firecracker in phantom in its initial loaded position, and in a subsequent position after ignition and prior to explosion;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged upright elevational view of the invention with parts broken away and with the muzzle end in section;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, perspective, exploded view of the breech portion of the barrel and the closure portion of the handle member in detached position; and

FIG. 4 is a muzzle-end view of the invention.

Description 0 the preferred embodiment Referring now to the drawings in more detail, FIGS. 1 and 2 disclose a firecracker shooter 10, made in accordance with this invention, having a stock or handle member 11 supporting a cylindrical barrel 12. The barrel 12 has an open muzzle end 13 and a sufiiciently large bore or inner diameter to receive a firecracker 14. The barrel 12 must be sufliciently strong and thick to receive and contain the firecracker 14 when it explodes, without distortion of the barrel 12 or injury to the operator of the shooter 10. The wall of the barrel 12 is preferably continuous or solid, and the rear end or breech 16 of the barrel 12, disclosed as open in FIG. 3, must be closed in operative position in order to completely contain the explosion of the firecracker 14, With the exception of the open muzzle end 13. The thickness of the barrel wall would depend upon the material employed.

Although there are several possible materials for the construction of the barrel 12, such as steel, high-strength steel alloys or aluminum alloys, the material preferred for this invention, not only from its strength characteristics, but also its translucence, is glass fibers. Glass fibers which have been coated with an epoxy resin are filamentwound around a cylindrical core to form the desired cylindrical shape, diameter and length of the barrel 12. It has been found that a barrel 12 formed from glass fibers and epoxy resin in this manner can have a wall thickness as small as approximately of an inch, and still safely receive and explode a firecracker without distortion or fracture of the barrel 12. Moreover, the explosion of the firecracker 14 produces a brilliant luminescence or flash which is clearly visible through the transluscent wall of the glass fiber and resin barrel 12. Thus, not only the strength, but also the lightness and luminescence of the fiber-resin barrel 12 renders the shooter 10 more attractive and desirable as a toy or amusement device.

If desired, a cylindrical breech collar 18 may be tightly slip-fitted over and around the rear end 16 in order to reinforce the rear portion of the barrel 12 adjacent the open breech 16, and also to support a portion of the locking mechanism which secures the handle member 11 to the barrel 12, and which will be subsequently described. The breech collar 18 may be made of strong material, such as steel.

The handle member 11 as disclosed in the drawings, includes a grip or gripping portion 20 sufiiciently long to accommodate the hand of the operator. The forward portion of the handle member 11 adjacent the grip 20 has a larger cross-section than the grip 20 to provide a hilt 21 which acts as a protective barrier between the hand of the operator and the barrel 12.

Projecting forwardly coaxially on the front end of the hilt 21 is the closure member 22 in the form of a cylindrical plug having an outer diameter slightly less than the inner diameter of the barrel 12. Thus, the closure plug 22 is adapted to slidably fit within the barrel 12 through the open breech 16.

In order to lock the closure plug 22 within the breech 16, one or more radial pins, such as the pair of radial pins 24, are fixed to project laterally from the closure plug 22. Formed through the wall of the barrel 12, and/ or the breech collar 18, are a pair of bayonet slots 25 opening through the rear end 16 and adapted to register with the corresponding radial locking pins 24. Thus, when the handle member 11 is thrust axially toward the barrel 12, with radial pins 24 aligned with their corresponding bayonet slots 25, the pins 24 will slidably engage the axial portions of the bayonet slots 25. Then, when the handle member 11 is twisted or rotated in a counter-clockwise direction looking forward, the pins 24 will be locked in the circumferential portions of the slot 25. The circumferential portions of the slots 25 are spaced forwardly of the rear end 16 of the barrel a sufiicient distance to permit the forward surface of the hilt 21 to engage the rear end 16 when radial pins 24 are in locking engagement with the circumferential portions of the slots 25. In this manner, the hilt 21 will absorb the major portion, if not all, of the rearward thrust generated by the firecracker exploding within the barrel 12, so that little or no stress will be exerted by the slots 25 upon their respective looking pins 24.

The purpose of having a detachable closure member 22 for the breech 16 is to provide a securely closed rear end for the barrel 12 in operative position, that is when the firecracker 14 is being exploded, and to permit the rear end to be opened after the explosion to facilitate removal of the residue of the firecracker from the barrel 12.

A very important feature of this invention is to provide a constricted opening 27 adjacent or in the muzzle end 13 of the barrel 12 so that the diameter of the opening 27 is less than the bore or inner diameter of the barrel 12. As disclosed in the drawings, this constricted opening 27 is shown as circular, and coaxial of the barrel 12. As disclosed in the drawings, the opening 27 is formed in the front or muzzle end of a hollow cap 28, preferably made of strong material, such as steel. The cap 28 is firmly secured by any convenient means over and around the outside of the portion of the barrel 12 adjacent the muzzle end 13. As shown in the drawings, the cap 28 is crimped at 29 in order to engage the wall of the barrel 12. Although the constricted opening 27 might be formed as an integral portion of the muzzle end 13, the cap 28 provides a convenient means of forming the constricted opening 27 as well as providing a reinforcing and protective cover for the muzzle end 13.

The function of the constricted opening 27 is to limit the introduction of any type of material into the barrel 12 to a cross-sectional area or size less than the diameter of the barrel 12. Not only will the size of the firecracker 14 be limited to the size of the constricted opening 27, but the size of any foreign objects, which might function as a projectile or missile, such as a marble, will also be limited. For example, if a firecracker 14 is dropped through the constricted opening 27 toward the rear end of the upright barrel 12, and then a marble is dropped through the constricted opening 27 into the barrel 12 in front of the firecracker 14, when the firecracker 14 explodes, the rapidly expanding gases will escape between the exterior surface of the marble and the wall of the barrel 12 without generating sufficient force behind the marble to project it like a missile or bullet through the muzzle end 13. The overlapping front portions of the cap 28 will also assist in containing the debris which might be expelled by the explosion of the firecracker.

Formed in the front surface of the muzzle cap 28 are one or more fuse slots 30. The fuse slots 30 are wedgeshaped, open-ended and intersect the constricted opening 27 so that after the firecracker 14 is inserted through the opening 27, the fuse 32 is wedged into and held by either fuse slot 30, as disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2. The width of each fuse slot 30 is sufficient to permit the fuse 32 of the firecracker 14 to be firmly wedged in the slot 30. Thus, when the firecracker shooter 10 is held with its muzzle end 13 up, and the fuse 32 is held in the slot 30, the firecracker 14 is easily supported to hang freely within the barrel 12 without dropping to the bottom thereof.

In operating the shooter 10, the handle member 11 is connected to the barrel 12 by inserting the closure plug 22 into the breech 16 of the barrel 12 with radial pins 24 aligned with the vertical portions of the bayonet slots 25. The handle member 11 is then thrust all the way forwardly until the radial pins 24 are aligned with the circumferential portions of the bayonet slots 25. The handle 11 is then twisted, or rotated, counter-clockwise, looking forward, until the radial pins 24 are firmly locked within the circumferential portions of the bayonet slots 25.

A firecracker 14 is then inserted through the constricted opening 27 and the fuse 32 wedged into one of the fuse slots 30 so that the firecracker 14 may be freely suspended within the barrel 12 when the shooter 10 is held in an upright position. The fuse 32 is then lit, and the grip 20 held by one hand, with the shooter 10 in an upwardly inclined position. After the fuse 32 burns past the slot 30, the firecracker 14 will automatically be released to drop downwardly toward the rear end of the barrel 12, as indicated in FIG. 1. After the fuse 32 is completely burnetd, the firecracker 14 explodes within the barrel 12, and the flash or luminescence is transmitted through the transluscent barrel 12 to provide a visual as well as audible effect. When the firecracker 14 explodes, within the barrel 12, there may be a slight kick, which is absorbed in the handle member 11, and particularly by the hilt 21. However, there will be no distortion of the barrel 12 or injury to the operator.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A firecracker shooter comprising:

(a) a barrel having a continuous wall, a uniform bore,

a closed breech and an open muzzle end,

(b) said muzzle end having a constricted opening of smaller cross-section than said bore to permit the introduction of a firecracker through said opening into said barrel,

(c) an open-ended fuse slot formed in said muzzle end intersecting said opening to snugly receive the fuse of a firecracker within said barrel, and

(d) means supporting said barrel.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which said barrel is transluscent.

3. The invention according to claim 1 in which said breech comprises an open rear end and closure means on said supporting means adapted to close said rear end in operative position, and means locking said closure means to said barrel in operative position.

4. The invention according to claim 3 in which said closure means comprises a cylindrical plug slidably receivable in said open rear end.

5. The invention according to claim 4 in which said locking means comprises a radial pin on said plug and a bayonet slot in said barrel wall adjacent said rear end for detachably receiving said pin.

6. The invention according to claim 4 in which said supporting means comprises an elongated handle member, and said cylindrical plug forms one end of said handle member.

7. The invention according to claim 6 in which said handle member comprises a handle grip, and a h ilt portion having a larger cross-section than said handle grip disposed between said handle grip and said plug.

8. The invention according to claim 1 in which said wall is made" of filament-wound glass fibers coated in epoxy resin, sufficiently strong to prevent distortion of said barrel upon explosion of a firecracker within said barrel. 1

9. The invention according to claim 8 further comprising a breech collar fixed to and surrounding said breech, said breech comprising an open rear end and closure means on said supporting means adapted to close said rear end in operative position, and means locking said closure means to said breech collar in operative position.

10. The invention according to claim 8 in which said muzzle end comprises a cap fixed to and surrounding the outside of said barrel wall, said constricted opening being formed in said cap coaxially of said barrel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 438,139 10/1890 Blackmer 4254 640,339 1/1900 Weilfenbach 4254 X 716,547 12/1902 Hdward 4254 BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. 

